Bahamas Real Estate Guide to Permits, Residency and More

Written by Ester Napoli


White sand beaches, clear blue waters, tax breaks, real estate and property;repparttar Bahamas never looked so good. And yes, I said real estate. Bahamian real estate is hotter than ever.

In 1993,repparttar 133990 International Persons Landholding Act was put into motion to encourage foreigners to purchase a second home in The Bahamas. And it couldn’t be simpler. If a foreigner buys a single family dwelling or vacant land to be used inrepparttar 133991 construction of such a dwelling, then he no longer needs to obtain a permit fromrepparttar 133992 Government prior torepparttar 133993 purchase. He only needs to registerrepparttar 133994 acquisition later withrepparttar 133995 Investments Board. Permanent residents ofrepparttar 133996 Bahamas and foreigners who inherit property inrepparttar 133997 Bahamas don’t have to obtain a permit before acquiring land but must register afterward.

However, there are cases where a permit will be needed for Bahamas real estate. First, ifrepparttar 133998 property is undeveloped land and of five acres in size or larger. Secondly, ifrepparttar 133999 property is not a private residence, or it is not intended for development as such, a permit is needed.

In dealing with mortgages,repparttar 134000 act is not meant to be a road block. In fact, it provides that licensed banks, trust, and insurance companies who acquire an interest in or take possession of property under a court order must register that acquisition. An acquisition by way of foreclosure under a mortgage or of land acquired by an authorized foreign state will not require a permit but must be registered.

With leases, foreigners are not required to obtain permits, register leases, or letting agreements unless they are for trade or business purposes andrepparttar 134001 term can exceed 21 years.

Not only hasrepparttar 134002 government made owning a second home easy for foreigners, they have also included a condition so that a foreigner no longer pays a double rate of stamp duty; he now paysrepparttar 134003 same single rate as a Bahamian.

The stamp duty is a tax that is payable onrepparttar 134004 delivery of all real property based onrepparttar 134005 value as follows: Stamp duty starts at 2% for real estate valued under $20,000 US, but increases to 10% for real estate over $250,000 US. Payment of this tax is usually shared equally betweenrepparttar 134006 seller andrepparttar 134007 buyer. There is also a 1% stamp duty on mortgages paid byrepparttar 134008 borrower. The usual practice inrepparttar 134009 Bahamas is forrepparttar 134010 tax to be shared equally between buyer and seller unless otherwise agreed upon.

If you are enteringrepparttar 134011 Bahamas, you must fill out an embarkation-disembarkation card which is usually provided by your travel agent,repparttar 134012 airline, orrepparttar 134013 ship you are traveling on. A visa and passport is not required of you if you are a Canadian citizen or subject ofrepparttar 134014 United Kingdom unlessrepparttar 134015 stay exceeds three weeks. U.S. citizens on regularly scheduled airlines, pre-cleared for return at U.S Customs and Immigration at Nassau International Airport also do not require a visa (though proof of citizenship is required).

Bahamas Real Estate Guide to Permits, Residency and More

Written by Ester Napoli


White sand beaches, clear blue waters, tax breaks, real estate and property;repparttar Bahamas never looked so good. And yes, I said real estate. Bahamian real estate is hotter than ever.

In 1993,repparttar 133989 International Persons Landholding Act was put into motion to encourage foreigners to purchase a second home in The Bahamas. And it couldn’t be simpler. If a foreigner buys a single family dwelling or vacant land to be used inrepparttar 133990 construction of such a dwelling, then he no longer needs to obtain a permit fromrepparttar 133991 Government prior torepparttar 133992 purchase. He only needs to registerrepparttar 133993 acquisition later withrepparttar 133994 Investments Board. Permanent residents ofrepparttar 133995 Bahamas and foreigners who inherit property inrepparttar 133996 Bahamas don’t have to obtain a permit before acquiring land but must register afterward.

However, there are cases where a permit will be needed for Bahamas real estate. First, ifrepparttar 133997 property is undeveloped land and of five acres in size or larger. Secondly, ifrepparttar 133998 property is not a private residence, or it is not intended for development as such, a permit is needed.

In dealing with mortgages,repparttar 133999 act is not meant to be a road block. In fact, it provides that licensed banks, trust, and insurance companies who acquire an interest in or take possession of property under a court order must register that acquisition. An acquisition by way of foreclosure under a mortgage or of land acquired by an authorized foreign state will not require a permit but must be registered.

With leases, foreigners are not required to obtain permits, register leases, or letting agreements unless they are for trade or business purposes andrepparttar 134000 term can exceed 21 years.

Not only hasrepparttar 134001 government made owning a second home easy for foreigners, they have also included a condition so that a foreigner no longer pays a double rate of stamp duty; he now paysrepparttar 134002 same single rate as a Bahamian.

The stamp duty is a tax that is payable onrepparttar 134003 delivery of all real property based onrepparttar 134004 value as follows: Stamp duty starts at 2% for real estate valued under $20,000 US, but increases to 10% for real estate over $250,000 US. Payment of this tax is usually shared equally betweenrepparttar 134005 seller andrepparttar 134006 buyer. There is also a 1% stamp duty on mortgages paid byrepparttar 134007 borrower. The usual practice inrepparttar 134008 Bahamas is forrepparttar 134009 tax to be shared equally between buyer and seller unless otherwise agreed upon.

If you are enteringrepparttar 134010 Bahamas, you must fill out an embarkation-disembarkation card which is usually provided by your travel agent,repparttar 134011 airline, orrepparttar 134012 ship you are traveling on. A visa and passport is not required of you if you are a Canadian citizen or subject ofrepparttar 134013 United Kingdom unlessrepparttar 134014 stay exceeds three weeks. U.S. citizens on regularly scheduled airlines, pre-cleared for return at U.S Customs and Immigration at Nassau International Airport also do not require a visa (though proof of citizenship is required).

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